While working in the service industry, small business owners sometimes run the risk of being bamboozled by clients who try to wiggle out of paying.
One Louisiana hair stylist by the name of Crystal Collins recently became a hot topic of social media discussions for cutting out a little girl's braids after it began to seem like the girl's mother wasn't going to pay her. She then posted photos of the child on Instagram-a decision that attracted mixed opinions. "One thing I don't play about is my money. I try to be patient with everybody but I will not get played," she captioned the photo of the child with her braids cut out. After receiving a ton of harsh criticism for her decision, she decided to further explain her actions.
According to Crystal, the child's mother made an appointment to bring her in to have her hair braided. After waiting close to two hours for the woman and child to arrive, she did the girl's hair while her mother ran errands. "When I was almost finished, I texted the child's mother and told her she can come," Crystal wrote. "She said okay about 20 minutes."
After waiting for the woman for almost another two hours, Crystal said the child's mother claimed to have a flat and so she drove the child home herself. Interestingly, once they arrived to the apartment building as directed by the child's mom, she didn't pick up her phone. It was later revealed by the girl that her mom had actually directed them to her

grandmother's house. "The lil' girl says, 'This my grandma house. My mama stay down the street.' So I take her there, she gets out and goes in the house." Crystal says she waited around some more because the child told her that no one was home except her brothers.
After it became clear that she was being given the run-around, Crystal reacted. "She finally answers and sounds unsure as to how I'm going to get my money. So then we come up with the decision that she will bring it to my house, so I leave. Then I realize I think she's trying to play me, so I turn around and head back to her house." After calling the woman a few more times and sending a text message informing the woman that she would just wait at her home for the money, Crystal summoned the child back outside and cut her braids out. "I cut the braids out and went on about my business. At the end of the day, I spent 9 hours away from my kids for nothing. Y'all wasn't in my shoes or in my position.
I have to take care of my three babies and I will do what I have to do to let it be known that I don't play when it comes to my job or supporting my family." While some seem to feel that Crystal did the right thing, others felt her actions were completely unprofessional and that she made matters worse by sharing the child's photo on social media